Born Rodrigo Díaz in the small Castilian village of Vivar around 1043, El Cid rose from minor nobility in the court of King Ferdinand I and Sancho II to become one of medieval Spain’s most celebrated ...

Almost every nation has its national epic, usually an account from early in its history of the martial exploits of a warrior-hero. For example, in England, there’s “Beowulf”; in France, “The Song of ...